--The housing price has dropped a lot in the past two years.

--That's good. Otherwise, many people cannot ____ to buy a small flat even with their parents' help.

A. want B. afford C. solve D. deal

B

句意：---房价在过去两年里下降了很多。---那太好了。否则，很多人甚至在父母的帮助下也买不起一套小公寓。A. want想要，需要；B. afford买得起；担负得起；C. solve解决；D. deal处理。afford通常与can，could, be able to连用,尤用于否定句或疑问句中，can’t afford to do sth.：负担不起…，没有能力（金钱，时间）做某事。根据句意和选项可知选B。